


Superradiant Scattering

by swaps55



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Cool Space Metaphors, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Finding Hope in Hopelessness, Friendship, Gen, Grief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29931585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swaps55/pseuds/swaps55
Summary: Kaidan helps Liara find hope in hopelessness.“How do you do it?” she asks softly.“Do what?”“How did you watch Earth burn, right in front of your eyes? How did you lose so much…and still have hope?”
Relationships: Kaidan Alenko & Liara T'Soni
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	Superradiant Scattering

Kaidan hesitates before opening the door into Starboard Observation. No one’s come anywhere near it since Liara retreated there an hour ago, when the _Normandy_ put Thessia in the rearview and burned for the relay. Just like Shepard, the crew has opted to give her a wide berth. Maybe he should do the same.

But sometimes what people want and what they need are two different things. So he opens the door.

Liara sits alone on the couch, gazing out the viewing window, where the surface of her home has melted away into a black net studded with stars. Her proud shoulders hunch, elbows resting on her knees, chin in hand. It’s the first glimpse of the naïve scientist he thought they’d found back on Therum he’s seen in a long time.

He’d misread her, then. Liara was anything but naïve. But no amount of wisdom or experience can prepare you for the sight of your world in ruins.

He should know.

“Hey, Liara,” he says gently.

She turns her head, eyes rimmed red.

He shoves his hands in his pockets. “I came to see how you were doing.”

At first he doesn’t think she’s going to answer. She looks back at the window in bleak silence, utterly still. Probably a signal to leave. Instead, he waits. 

“How do you do it?” she asks softly.

“Do what?”

“How did you watch Earth burn, right in front of your eyes? How did you lose so much…and still have hope?”

He sits down next to her on the couch and looks out at the stars. Vast, infinite, filled with emptiness if you let your gaze wander too far from the pinpricks of light.

Light, stubborn light, bleeding through the cracks.

“Have you ever heard of the Penrose process?” he asks. “Or superradiant scattering?”

She frowns and shakes her head.

“The geth Dyson sphere the quarians destroyed made me think of it,” he says, twisting his hands in his lap. “The most powerful source of energy in the galaxy doesn’t come from a single star, or even a galaxy full of stars.”

She tilts her chin ever so slightly. Even in grief, her curiosity remains. He’s always liked that about her.

“What does it come from?”

“Black holes,” Kaidan replies. “Human scientists call it the Penrose process – feeding mass energy into the ergosphere of a black hole in exchange for rotational energy.”

“I am…familiar with the concept,” she says, hesitantly, “though hardly well-versed.” 

He nods. “Well, to actually collect and use that energy, instead of a Dyson sphere, you’d just...enclose it in a giant mirror. There’s not even much technology involved. We could _do_ it, with what’s available to us today.”

Confusion crosses her face. “Kaidan, what—”

“Superradiant scattering,” he explains. “You bounce electromagnetic waves off the mirrors, drawing rotational energy off the ergosphere, then extract it through a window. In theory, it’s an almost _limitless_ source of energy.”

“I’m sorry,” Liara says, brow furrowed in frustration. “I do not understand how this is relevant.”

He offers a crooked smile. “One day the universe is going to die, Liara. Not from the reapers. Just from… _time._ ” He gestures out the observation window. “One day, when you look out there it truly will be a void. No stars. No light. The end of all things. Except…it doesn’t have to be.”

“Because…we’ll still have black holes,” she murmurs.

He nods. “The heat death of the universe is billions of years away. Humans, asari…we’ll be ancient, cosmic dust before it ever happens. But that didn’t stop us from coming up with a way to survive it anyway, on the off chance…that maybe we will be. And we’ll do it by creating light out of darkness.”

He settles back against the cushions and gazes at the infinite field of stars, each and every one a defiant beacon of light.

“Here, now, when it looks like we’ve reached the end…that gives me hope.”

Liara watches him for a moment before turning back to the viewing window. 

“Thank you, Kaidan.”

“You’re welcome.”

She shifts in her seat, and gives him a tentative glance. “Do you mind…staying for a little while?” 

“Of course not. As long as you need.”

To his surprise she pushes closer and leans a head against his shoulder. He threads an arm around hers in return. Sometimes, it helps just not to feel alone.

So they sit in companionable silence, and watch the stubborn light of stars flicker in the dark. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! You can also find me on tumblr at swaps55.tumblr.com.


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